Just One Dissident Board Member Could Oust KDHX Leadership, Lawyer Says

Attorney Bevis Schock says he's read the bylaws and is ready to share a game plan

Oct 26, 2023 at 7:18 am

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

KDHX is in turmoil.

A prominent public interest lawyer in St. Louis says he knows just what it would take to oust leadership at KDHX — and he doesn't think it would be that hard. It would take, says Bevis Schock, essentially one board member willing to buck the board president or fire the executive director.

Attorney Bevis Schock.

Schock, a libertarian known for his civil rights litigation and occasional tilts at the windmills of St. Louis City Hall, made the remarks yesterday on the Legal Roundtable on St. Louis on the Air. (Full disclosure: I was hosting the show, but did not plan to discuss KDHX nor did I have any idea that Schock had been studying the situation.)

The community radio station has been embroiled in controversy in recent months, and Schock's comments came after a caller asked the panel of lawyers on the program about the DJs who'd been fired by the station. Would they have a decent defamation lawsuit against Board President Gary Pierson, who told St. Louis Public Radio that they'd resisted DEI efforts — only to walk back those claims after being challenged on them?

Schock shot that idea down quickly, calling the lawsuit a "loser."

"I will tell you, there's no way, it's opinion," he said of Pierson's allegations. "Nobody's named specifically. There's no case there ... I wouldn't take that."

But, he added, if anyone on the board was interested in ousting Pierson, or firing executive director Kelly Wells, it would be easy enough to do.

"I've looked up the bylaws, and I've written the notice," he said. "And if anybody on that board wants to oust the chairman or the other, I've got the papers all done. If there is controversy within the board — if there are board members who oppose what's going they need to get at least a majority. ... If anyone wants to get the papers for a special meeting, just contact me."

When I followed up off the air, Schock confirmed that he believes the three new board members that KDHX associates elected last month in a meeting contested by Pierson would count — and could be part of that new majority. (He acknowledged that could trigger a lawsuit.)

At that meeting, the associate members voted out two board members, and two more have resigned since. So by the RFT's tally, if the three newcomers count, the dissident faction would need just one more board member to have a majority.

On the air, Schock made clear he's not trying to sell his services here. Asked if he'd turn over the notice he's written for free, he offered some classic Schockian noblesse oblige. "I regularly do services for free," he told me. "The work is done."

KDHX Board Member Resigns: The DJ community is buzzing with rumors of another resignation

KDHX Volunteers Vote to Oust 2 Board Members After Mass DJ Firings: Board President Gary Pierson tried to stop the meeting, but organizers say the law is on their side

KDHX Fires 10 More DJs, Despite Pending Legal Issues: This makes 13 DJs terminated so far this year

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About The Author

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.

Email Sarah Fenske